Top Notes
by RainbowsArePretty
Summary: Sequel to "Solace". Auggie Anderson became a permanent fixture of the Brooks-Walker household. Curled up to Annie, he wondered for how long they could toe the line between Friends and More than Friends, without messing it all up.
1. Thursdays

Wow! Thanks for all those reviews on "Solace". Originally, there wasn't going to be a sequel, but a few people reviewed wanting another chapter or a sequel. And what can I say, I'm a sucker for reviews :). On with the disclaimers:

Note: I will not hold any of fan fiction creations hostage because I do not get reviews, or I get a few bad ones. In my opinion, reviews are for the readers benefit because if I can see what readers like and dislike, I will be able to improve my story. I don't hold stories hostage, and I won't require anyone to review before I post another chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the fandoms in which I have written under this account, nor do I own any publicly recognized brand or product that appears in any of my work under this account. If you recognize it as being owned, then I do not own it. This applies to any and all work published under this account: RainbowsArePretty.

xXx

"Haven't you learned not to sneak up on me, Annie?" Auggie smirked as he spun around in his chair and pulled down his headphones. He had grown very finely tuned to Annie's presence – her perfume, the sound of her heels – they all alerted him to when she entered to the room.

Today was different. He could barely spell her grapefruit perfume, and his nose was filled raspberry top-notes, and her pointy kitten heels had been traded in for a pair of flats.

"Huh?" Annie's head tilted, her nose furrowing in confusion. She leaned against the doorframe, her arms crossed in amusement.

Auggie lifted his hand gesticulated generally towards her head and towards feet, "Well, you know, the perfume, and the . . . the heels."

"Oh . . ." Annie snorted, "I took a shower last minute, and borrowed Bea's shampoo. Hand to hand combat with a patriotic North Korean agent leaves you all sweaty," she shuddered, and smirked. "And walking in heels isn't as easy as it looks, you know."

"Oh," Auggie murmured, suddenly embarrassed of the thought that Annie would deliberately try to avoid him, "Well," he smiled brightly, "CIA shower stalls are the best in invention in, like, the world," he spread his arms out.

Annie strolled over to him and perched herself on his desk. "You know what today is?" she asked

"Um," he searched his brain, but he'd never been good at remember appointments, "the fifth?"

Annie rolled her eyes, and pressed the side button of his watch.

"_Thursday. Thursday. Thursday! Thursday! Thursday!" _his watch rang out as she repeatedly pressed it.

"Okay! Okay," he swatted her hand away, "I get it, it's Thursday Night Dinner."

"Uh huh, the girls have been looking forward to this since . . ." she paused as she pretended to think, "Last Friday. They love their 'Uncle Auggie', you know."

He cracked a smile at that, and she continued, "So c'mon, I want to scare everybody by showing up on time."

And with that, he powered off his computers, and walked arm in arm with Annie out of the dimly lit office.

xXx

"Uncle Auggie! Aunt Annie!" was the first thing they heard as the aforementioned sneaked in through the side door, and were hit by colliding bob-haired missiles.

Auggie and Annie easily lifted up whichever Brooks daughter they had clutching them – Annie holding Chloe, and Auggie holding Katia.

"Guess what! Guess what!" Katia gushed, unable to stay still as she waited for a response. Chloe, however, was too busy fiddling with the collar of Annie's shirt to notice.

"What?" Auggie obliged, as he set her on the counter. Katia looked nearly ready to burst with excitement.

"I made an A plus on my first spelling test!" the oldest Brooks daughter exclaimed.

"Congrats KitKat," he exclaimed giving the girl in question a high-five. She giggled, and jumped off the counter before she missed her show. Chloe mimicked her and trailed after her older sister.

Danielle chose that moment to walk past the two giggling girls and into the kitchen where she found Annie and Auggie standing there. A look of concern suddenly encompassed her face.

"Are you guys okay? Is everything alright?" she asked worriedly.

Annie and Auggie exchanged confused glanced, without actually making eye contact.

"What are you talking about, 'Elle?" Annie questioned, taking all three of them out of their misery.

"You guys aren't late. Actually," Danielle glanced at her watch, "you're early."

Annie smirked knowingly, and hip-bumped Auggie as she left the room to help the girls set the table. Auggie followed suit and left as well, leaving Danielle with a perplexed expression on her face.

xXx

Dinner had passed relatively uneventful. Then again, for Auggie and Annie, working at the CIA had the constant downside of making any 'normal' occurrence seem uneventful.

When no one was shot or blown up, they both considered it a good day. Katia shared again about her first A plus, and Chloe commented that she had made a new friend, Emily, who had a "funny accent".

Michael spoke up about his job search, and how he felt that his interviews had gone exceptionally well. Danielle smiled genuinely at that, and shared that her catering business was now up and running, and that she had a party on the 15th.

Auggie and Annie shuffled quietly in their seats, hoping that nobody would notice that they hadn't yet spoken, and they had almost gotten away clean if it wasn't Chloe speaking up when she noticed that the pair had stayed moderately quiet with the exception of an occasional "Uh huh," or a "Well, that's great,".

Annie glanced at Auggie subtly to gauge his reaction, and had to admit that it was true what was whispered around the Agency. You can take the man out of the CIA, but you can't take the CIA out of the man. It was the unofficial slogan and motto of those that worked there.

His face was a statue carved out of stone, his expression revealing nothing. His jaw was set, and his lips were slightly upturned, but were otherwise fairly still. It was one of those moments when she wished she could just watch him for a while, and maybe she would learn what ran through his mind.

It was a fairly good thing that he spoke and broke her out of her reverie, because otherwise she would have stayed in that position.

With a subtle quirk of his lips, he began, "Well, Annie and I have been researching the civilization of Babylon in the 1700s BC, because there's been an alleged find in eastern Syria of an artifact that could've belonged to Hammurabi, who reigned for over forty years there."

Annie sat open mouthed as she listened to Auggie's response. How much information did he have stored just for this occasion – someone asking about his work?

"Right, Annie?" he asked, nudging her shoulder discreetly.

"Um, right," she answered.

There was one thing about Auggie that she would never get used to. He always surprised, and never ceased to amaze her.

xXx

After dinner, the girls were sent to bed after giving a goodnight kiss to all four adults, and after the table was cleared, they all sat down to watch a movie, with Auggie paying much more attention to the blonde spy curled up next to him.

He knew it was getting late, and was half asleep himself when both Danielle and Michael wished him a goodnight and left. He was only barely awake to manage a "'Night Dani, 'night Michael."

He became somewhat aware of a weight on his shoulder that was only getting heavier as Annie her head on him completely.

"Annie," he murmured, prodding her awake, "Hey, it's late, and I'm gonna go," he spoke as he tried to remove himself without moving her much.

Annie was completely opposed to the idea as she tugged him down next to her and reverted back to her original position. "Stay," she murmured, as she nuzzled his shoulder.

"Annie . . ." he began. In her barely lucid state, there wasn't any way she would remember her request in the morning when she found herself curled up to her best friend.

"Please," she mumbled, as she buried her face in the crook of his neck. His senses went into overdrive as the combination of her still lingering grapefruit mixed in with the feeling of her so close to him overwhelmed his senses.

"Okay," he murmured back, as his defenses finally broke.

xXx

Okay, I do _love _the Brooks girls. Therefore, I had to put them in this chapter. :)


	2. Lucky Charms

"Auggie," she murmured, her voice barely above a whisper. Her eyes were clenched tightly, as if afraid of opening them.

A gasp escaped her lips, and her labored breathing filled the room's silence.

"Auggie. No, no . . . Auggie," she choked out, tears running from her eyes.

She was in the same position that she was in when she fell asleep, except this time, she was shivering violently, and whimpering her best friend's name.

Auggie's eyes fluttered opened at the call of his name, and turned his head around, half-expecting to be able to see what was happening.

He felt wet drops running down his shoulder, and heard the quiet sobs of the woman next to him.

"Annie?" he whispered, somewhat against breaking what was left of the silence.

He shook her gently, an attempt to rouse her from her nightmare filled sleep. "Annie? Annie, honey?" he murmured.

"Auggie?"

He could tell that she had woken up, because her voice was clearer now, not muffled by sobs, and her voice rang out, slightly tinged with confusion.

He was prepared for her to fall back asleep, but what he wasn't prepared for was her practically tackling him in a hug.

Her choked sobs rang out in his ears, before she affectionately nuzzled him and murmured, "I dreamt you were dead."

His eyes closed as the realization finally dawned on him.

"Annie," he murmured, laying back on the couch, and pulling her towards him. Once she was comfortably positioned, he leaned slightly to whisper in her ear.

"Sleep, Annie. I'll be here."

xXx

Annie wasn't the type of person to wake up quickly in the morning. That was more 'Elle's forte. So, on that morning, when she woke up, it took her a moment or two. She was comfortable – that much was obvious.

After working for the CIA for even this short time, she was immediately able to tell when she woke up on a mission – she was rarely comfortable on those.

She wasn't in her bed, for another thing. Her bed smelled like a mixture between Downy fabric softener, cinnamon from her candles, and her peach shampoo. Whatever she was on smelled like aftershave, Gain laundry detergent, and was that . . . Play-Doh?

Huh.

She blearily opened her eyes, and cringed when she saw how bright the light was. It was morning, that was for sure. It had to be early, she deduced once her eyes adjusted, and saw that the sun had barely risen.

Seeing the sleek wooden floor alerted her to being in her sister's house.

Using her arms to lift herself off, she looked down to see exactly what she was strewn upon.

Whoa.

Lying stomach up on the couch – which explained the Play-Doh smell, belonging to the girls', of course – was none other than Auggie himself.

His gray vest was wrinkled slightly, and his hair mussed. Her moving must have roused him awake, for his eyes were crinkling before opening fully, with an accompanying yawn.

Quickly remembering what happened the previous night, and the weight of her body on his, he smiled up and smirked.

"Hello, sleeping beauty," he murmured knowingly.

She rolled her eyes for her own benefit, and lifting herself completely, stretched out her arm to help him up.

"C'mon," he whined childishly, "I was comfy."

As he obliged, getting up from the couch, she spoke, "Come on, handsome, it's a great morning."

They walked all the way to the kitchen before Auggie spoke again, "I'll have you know, "great morning" is an oxymoron."

xXx

They had both remained relatively quiet as they ate their breakfast. They were the only ones awake in the house, as it was still too early for the rest of the family to be up.

Auggie was deep in his thoughts, and that was enough to command his attention. He was remembering what it was like being asleep next to his best friend. Curled up to Annie, he had wondered for how long they could toe the line between Friends and More than Friends, without messing it all up.

It was implicit to both of them, that they needed each other in their lives.

Annie's thoughts were similar to his. Auggie was her best friend, but there was something there between them.

An unspoken line was always toed, but never crossed, for fear on both their parts prevented that.

Their thoughts were both interrupted by the two girls shuffled down the stairs and in to the kitchen. Chloe slapped the countertop before exclaiming sleepily, "I won!"

"You did not, Chlo'," Katia responded, opening the fridge to get her orange juice.

When Katia wasn't paying attention, Chloe muttered, "Did too."

The girls both noticed the two adults at the same time. Rubbing her eyes, Katia greeted them, "Mornin' Annie. Mornin' Auggie."

"Morning Katia, morning Chloe," he responded cheerily.

Chloe waved in response, "Hey," she murmured.

"Why are you girls up so early?" Annie questioned, quietly sipping her coffee.

"Mom's taking us to the zoo today since we don't have school today. She wants us to go early," Katia responded, slurping down her chocolate milk.

Danielle entered the kitchen a moment after Katia finished her sentence, and kissed each of her daughters. Michael, sluggishly trailing behind her, did the same.

"Hey Annie. Hey Auggie," Danielle greeted them, while taking a sip of the coffee Annie had pushed towards her.

Annie managed a sleepy "'Ello," before getting up to steal the Lucky Charms box from Chloe.

Auggie, peppy as always, responded with a, "Hello, Danielle."

"So, how did you guys sleep last night? I can't imagine you must've been comfortable on the couch," Danielle inquired.

Auggie's eyes widened as he turned his head towards Annie, waiting, with bated breath, to hear what she had to say. Did she remember the nightmare, and sobbing on his shoulder in the middle of the night?

After pouring herself a bowl of Lucky Charms, she responded, "Actually, I slept great. A completely dreamless sleep. I think I would have slept through a tornado, if there would've been one," she commented, picking the marshmallows out from the cereal to eat.

Auggie breathed a relieved sigh. The crisis was averted.

xXx

They arrived at the DPD, and Auggie made a beeline for his desk, wanting to change as soon as possible before anyone else could see he hadn't changed clothes. That, along with the fact that he left and arrived with Annie, would be enough to feed the proverbial water cooler for a month.

When he came back, dressed in his clean clothes, Annie was comfortably settled in his chair.

"Is this going to become a habit for you," she teased, "Walking the "Walk of Shame"? Because, I've got a reputation to keep, and I don't want you dirtying it up without me knowing it."

He raised his eyebrows and strolled over to her. Perching himself on his desk, he leaned down to whisper in her ear.

"Trust me, Walker. When I dirty up your reputation, you'll know it," he responded slyly.

With their close proximity, she was sure that he could feel the heat radiating off of her blood-red cheeks. She cleared her throat, and rolled the chair slightly away from him.

"Have you got anything to do tonight?" she asked, willing her face to return to its normal shade.

"No, why?" he replied, tilting his head.

"Today's Friday, and Fridays are Movie Nights. Chloe was the one that got to pick for today, and she picked "The Little Mermaid". Again. So you, being the very best friend that you are, are to take me out of my misery, because, honestly, not even Walt Disney could watch "The Little Mermaid" nine times."

"Nine times? Wow. Sure, I'm not doing anything tonight. Want to have a little movie night of our own? I've got popcorn," he responded, saying the last sentence in a sing-song voice.

"Great, it's a date."

xXx

I've got to tell you, the next chapter is the last, of this story, at least. There will be a sequel, since the last chapter will end on a cliff hanger. Sort of.

Yes, I may be evil, but only slightly. :)


	3. And it Comes Out

I have to warn everyone. Since I'm also writing "Situations and Circumstances", I've been focused on that, and the chapter that I've been writing of that was like Über-angsty. I'm serious; in that chapter, I don't think that there's any semblance of happiness (the sequel to that oneshot is, though) and so this chapter of "Top Notes" is a bit more angsty than I planned out.

xXx

"Knock, knock," Annie quipped, knocking on the glass door. Auggie turned around in his chair, and once he was alerted to her presence, a smile nearly split his face.

"Annie," he lilted, "You all set?" he queried, as he instinctively pressed a few buttons to power down the assortment of computers.

Annie plastered on a smile, one that would look like a grimace to any outside observer, and nodded before murmuring an affirmative "Uh huh."

"You okay?" Auggie inquired, his brow furrowing with worry.

Annie let out an awkward chuckled and nodded, "Yeah, no, I'm okay."

Satisfied with her response for the moment, he bent his elbow at an angle.

"Walk with me?"

xXx

Turning her key into his door, they both stepped into his comfortable apartment.

Auggie closed his eyes and took a deep breath in when he stepped in the center of the room. He knew that she was looking at him when he spoke, "Ah, home, sweet, home."

She snorted in humor – she seemed to do that more often when he was around – and seemed to relax. Placing a hand on his shoulder, she turned him towards her. She was holding three DVDs that she had found in his movie collection.

"So, Eagle Eye, Forrest Gump, or The Bourne Identity?"

He smiled and led them both to the couch. He thought about it for a moment. "Forrest Gump. It's easier to follow."

Once they both sat down, she curled up closer to him – an act that momentarily surprised him. It briefly reminded him of when of when he had woken up next to her, and he wondered if this was an after-affect of her dream. Surely, it couldn't have been the first time.

She placed the DVD into the player, and stepped back until her knees hit the couch. After pressing a few buttons on the remote, she sat back down. Putting the remote between them, she curled up to him in her original position.

Halfway through the movie, Annie realized that it hadn't escaped her notice that he hadn't spoken that much, and that he had his brow furrowed – a sign that he was deep in thought.

Annie was, though she didn't know it, correct about her observations. Auggie had been thinking – specifically, about her. There was something off when she told her Danielle she had slept well. Now, it wasn't an outright lie - he had grown well-tuned to those, when it came from her, at least. There was, however, something off about her tone – it was tinted with surprise and suspicion.

He was debating back and forth whether he should ask her about it, when he felt her shift against him, and heard the movie stop. Was it already finished? To be honest, he hadn't been paying too much attention to it, but he didn't think that he had day-dreamed through a movie over two hours long, although he would admit that he had been out of focus with the world for a while, there.

He tilted his head slightly, "Annie?"

Her response was a quiet and slightly muffled snore. He smiled slightly; that explained it. It seemed that Annie had fallen asleep a while the movie played, and he had only noticed it when his TV's sleep timer enabled itself.

"Annie," he tried again, but she didn't budge.

"You know," he murmured, mostly for himself, "If we're going to make a habit of falling asleep on couches, I think I'm going to have to invest in a comfier couch."

Placing an arm around her shoulders, and an arm under her knees, he carried back to his bed. Laying her down, he pulled the covers up to her shoulders and, making sure she was comfortable, made to leave. Something stopped him.

A childlike whimper escaped her lips, and her eyes were screwed shut.

"Auggie," she choked out, gripping the covers tighter.

Worry froze his veins, and he rushed back to her, his hand searching for her. He brushed against something that was probably a wrist, and as he trailed his fingers up it, he made contact with her shoulder.

Perching himself on his bed, he gently shook her.

"Annie. . ." he murmured, and then spoke it more loudly, "Annie."

She woke up or was, at least, a bit more lucid than she was asleep. "Auggie?" she mumbled, her voice muffled with sleep and tears.

"Hey, I'm right here," he soothed.

She unsuccessfully stifled a sniffle. "Auggie? Can I ask you something?"

He shuffled in closer to her. "Of course," he promised, running his hand up and down her arm.

"And if I do," she continued, "Will you promise to tell me the truth?"

He nodded, apprehension seeping into his voice, "If I can, I will."

He heard her take a deep breath. "Yesterday, when you slept over, did I . . . did I have a nightmare?"

He paused for a moment, and a guilty look encompassed his face, "Yes."

"God," she choked out, and ran her fingers through her. She collapsed weakly against the pillow.

"How do you get over them, Auggie?" she questioned, not able to stifle her sobs.

"You don't," he responded bluntly, "You find someone to talk about it with, and they just . . . fade away."

She thought about it for a moment, and then whispered to him, "Can I talk to you about it?"

"Sure," he nodded, nuzzling her hair.

"Did I tell you anything about my dream?" she asked him, "I don't remember anything about it. I guess I fell asleep too quickly; usually I say up for an hour before I can go back to sleep. Danielle suspects something's wrong, but she doesn't know."

"You didn't tell me much," he admitted, "Only that you dreamt that . . . that I died."

She sharply took a breath, and closed her eyes as a tear slid down her face.

"Annie," he murmured, "You can tell me. You know that, right?"

"I know," she nodded against him. She took a deep breath, and mentally prepared herself.

"It starts out normally; we're in the office, and there's barely anybody there," she closed her eyes and took a deep sigh, "We're both done with our work, and we decide to go someplace. It's never the same place – sometimes it's the beach, the tavern, my house, your apartment. Once it was even the Smithsonian," she snorted.

"Sounds like it's been going on for while," he murmured worriedly.

"It has," she mumbled as she turned closer to him. She continued with her previous thought, "We're having fun. We're dancing, badmouthing Jai, drinking shots of Patron. And then the place is empty. Everyone disappears because . . . because they know something bad is going to happen," the last part was sobbed out, muffled by her cries.

"Annie," he crooned, pulling her closer as she buried her face into his neck.

"And . . . and then," she whimpered, "Then the trigger's pulled, and you fall down. You're bleeding, and I try to stop the blood. But there's so much, and it wasn't meant to happen!"

At this point she was sobbing fully into his shoulder, "And it was all my fault, Aug."

"How was it your fault, Annie? Who shot me?" Auggie whispered.

Annie lifted her head to meet his gaze. Her voice was clear and strong when she responded to him.

"I did, Auggie."

xXx

Okay, so this isn't going to be the last chapter of this story. I had more planned out for this chapter, but it would be too long, so I'm just going to make into another chapter. That one will probably be the last one for this story, and then the sequel will continue the story line.

A few people have asked, if it's going to be in the same storyline, and if the next chapter is going to end in a "semi cliffhanger", then what is the point of writing it in another separate story. The reason is this: this story is focusing more or less on her nightmare, and both of them wanting more, right? The sequel has a different focus. The nightmare doesn't play as much a part in that story as it does in this one, as something else will "command" the attention.

I hope that that wasn't too confusing, but you'll understand everything in the next chapter. Promise.

Also, I actually researched what movies are easy for the blind to follow, and I found out that "Forrest Gump" is really easy to follow.

Wow. Longest Author's Note ever.


End file.
